


Soap Operas and Secret Relationships

by shnuffeluv



Series: Danger Gays: The Extras [3]
Category: Cartoon Therapy (Web Series), Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Christmas Party, Family, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:08:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21722761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/shnuffeluv
Summary: When Bailey steps out on the porch, he certainly doesn't expect to see his cousin Emile kissing his best friend Remy.
Relationships: Dr. Emile Picani/Sleep | Remy Sanders
Series: Danger Gays: The Extras [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1462492
Comments: 15
Kudos: 67





	Soap Operas and Secret Relationships

Bailey knew that it wasn’t exactly polite to watch people or listen in on conversations when they didn’t know you were there. But in his defense, he had been tormented by some of the girls in the family and he had wanted to find Cousin Emile for backup. When he couldn’t find him, he went to hide on the back porch. It was cold, but it was screened in, so he didn’t have to worry about anything getting in that wasn’t allowed.

When he had his coat halfway on, and he was halfway out the door, he saw Cousin Emile standing outside in the back, wearing only a sweater to protect him from the cold, and he was talking to that friend of his he had brought over for Christmas. What was his name...Remy! Yeah, he was talking to Remy. Remy had his arms hugged around his stomach, like he was hurt or sick or maybe crying. And Emile had his hands out, almost but not quite touching Remy’s shoulders.

Bailey was more than a little confused. He hadn’t seen Remy get hurt with anything, and he hadn’t heard anyone cry out, or anything crash. So why would he be crying?

He strained his ears and could just barely make out a couple words. “...Miss him, Emile, I miss him so much...”

“I know you do, Rem. But it’ll be okay. Maybe not right away, but I know that one day you’ll find Toby again and the two of you can catch up,” Cousin Emile said.

Bailey was doubly confused. Who was Toby? Remy had said something about a Toby last night, but he was talking to all the adults, and Bailey hadn’t been paying attention. Obviously, Remy must miss him a lot, though, if he was crying over it.

When Bailey decided he’d better not pry and just go back inside and risk the girls again, something that the two did caught his attention. Cousin Emile reached out and gently grabbed Remy’s hand, and Bailey couldn’t be sure, but he might have squeezed it. Sure, it was something he saw people do to comfort each other, but it was mostly only ever on his mom’s soap operas, the soaps he was sometimes forced to watch when he got sick and had to stay home from school. And then, it was always between a man and a woman. But...Cousin Emile was a man. And Remy was also a man. Grandpa had said as much, and talked to both of them about possibly getting girlfriends, and inviting them to future Christmases. But Cousin Emile and Remy had shared an embarrassed, uncomfortable glance at that.

...What?

He knew this was definitely something he wasn’t supposed to see, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away. Cousin Emile hugged Remy tightly, and then pulled apart just enough to wipe Remy’s cheeks with his thumb. And Bailey knew. He knew that the two of them were together, just like those couples in his mom’s soaps. Remy kissed Cousin Emile, just for a brief second, and murmured something too soft for Bailey to hear.

When they turned towards the porch, Bailey gasped and ducked down behind the railing. “We should probably get back in, someone’s going to start missing us,” Remy said.

“If they haven’t already started looking,” Cousin Emile said, and Bailey hurried to the door as they looked back at each other, praying that they didn’t see him.

He tore off his coat and hung it back up, and put his sneakers back by the front door. If he was lucky, no one would suspect where he had been. He walked back into the living room and saw Cousin Emile and Remy had come back inside, and Bailey couldn’t look them in the eye. “Hey, Bailey! The girls giving you trouble again?” Cousin Emile asked.

Bailey looked up in surprise, before his gaze darted away. “Just a little,” he lied. “I was looking for you earlier.”

“Oh? Sorry, I was out back with Remy. We just needed to talk about something in private real quick.”

Bailey fiddled with his hands and nibbled on his lip, before he turned red and blurted, “I know.”

Cousin Emile and Remy shared a brief surprised look. Remy looked terrified, pale as a ghost. Cousin Emile just gave Remy’s hand a brief squeeze at their sides and ushered Bailey away from the living room, until they were in a hallway where no one could overhear them. Remy followed them all the while. “How do you know that?” Cousin Emile asked quietly.

“I saw you,” Bailey admitted. “I went out on the back porch and I saw the two of you.”

Remy muttered a swear word that Bailey knew was Not Allowed under his breath, that started with the letter ‘s.’ “Remy, don’t swear in front of the kid,” Cousin Emile said, turning to look at him briefly. “What did you see, Bailey?”

“Enough,” Bailey said. “I know the two of you are together, like the couples on mom’s soaps.” Cousin Emile winced and Remy turned paler. “Don’t worry, though! I also know it’s a secret. Why else would you guys sneak out back just to hug? And I won’t tell anyone, Cousin Emile, not even Aunt Jackie and Uncle Fred.”

“Aunt Jackie and Uncle Fred?” Remy asked softly.

“My parents,” Cousin Emile said. “Thanks, Bailey. I know that it’s hard to keep these sorts of things secret, but it’s really important that no one knows. Not even Grandpa, okay?”

“Okay,” Bailey said with a nod. “I think Grandpa would be happy, though. He always liked it when you had girlfriends before.”

“Yeah, but I never told him I had  _ boyfriends, _ too,” Cousin Emile explained. “Because he doesn’t think girls should have girlfriends or boys should have boyfriends. And since Remy is my boyfriend, not my girlfriend...”

“It has to stay a secret?” Bailey filled in.

“At least for now,” Cousin Emile agreed. “Listen, if you have any questions, you can ask your mom or dad, all right? But if they ask about why you’re so curious, say that I mentioned two boys I knew in college were dating. Not that it’s me and Remy, sound good?”

“Yeah,” Bailey said. “I know that there’s a lot of crying whenever couples break up on my mom’s soaps, for whatever reason. And I don’t want you or Remy to cry. You’re both super nice.”

“Thanks, Bailey,” Cousin Emile said with a smile. “Now, do you still need help with the girls, or will you be okay on your own?”

“I think I’ll be okay,” Bailey said. “I mean, if you and Remy need some more time alone...”

“We might,” Cousin Emile allowed. “Thank you for understanding.”

Bailey nodded and ran back to the living room where he found the girls were building towers out of the giant Legos Grandpa had. He sat down in a chair and watched them, all thoughts about Cousin Emile and Remy leaving his mind.

**Author's Note:**

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